Strange New World
by vapiddreamscape
Summary: Bae travels through a vortex and lands in a strange new world, a place called Earth. He must learn to live alone, in a world without magic, so different from his own. He keeps his past a closely guarded secret. But when he begins forming bonds with the people around him, he learns that might be harder than he originally anticipated. ON HIATUS!
1. Questions and Lies

Chapter One: Questions and Lies

Melissa Carter looked at the boy sitting across from her, wondering what to do with him. He sat in the chair on the other side of her desk, dark eyes seeming to bore holes into her flesh. His attire was something that belonged in a Renaissance fair or something else of the sort, but that had been a dead end. There was not one within two hundred miles of where they were now and none in the tri-state area were missing a teenage boy. She now sat across from him, trying to get him to tell her anything. After nearly an hour of trying, Melissa was beginning to wonder if this mysterious boy would ever speak.

"What's your name?" she asked for what seemed to be the millionth. "Don't be afraid. You can tell me."

The boy was silent for a long moment before he spoke. "Bae," he said, almost inaudibly.

"Do you have a last name, Bae?" He shook his head. "How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Where do you come from?"

Bae wasn't stupid. He knew the people in a world lacked magic would never believe him if he told them of his true origins. They wouldn't be able to wrap their brains around the fact that magic had brought him here, that he came from a place where people used it every day. "Far away. I lived in a place far away from here."

"And where might that be?" He wouldn't answer that. Melissa knew that would be the case. After a few beats of silence, she asked another question. "How did you get here, Bae? By bus, by car?"

Bae looked confused, as he had no idea what she was talking about. He had been scared of her car when she picked him up from the hospital where they had examined him. He had refused to get in for the longest time. It had taken Melissa fifteen minutes to coax him into the backseat and he had been tense the entire drive to her office, staring nervously at the traffic surrounding them. Melissa was almost positive he hadn't gotten here by motor vehicle, because it was almost as though he had never seen one before.

"I brought myself here."

"But how did you do that?" He was silent; staring at a spot on the wall over Melissa's left shoulder. She tried asking her question, but he acted as though he didn't hear her. She decided to try a different question, hoping for a better result. "Where are your parents, Bae?"

Bae bit his lip; unsure of how to answer this question, not even really sure he wanted to. He had yet to lie to Melissa. He didn't like lying. It left a sour taste in his mouth and afterward, he felt extremely guilty. But this might be one of those times that lying was beneficial to him. It would make it so much easier. "They are dead." That was Bae's first lie.

Melissa's face didn't change but in her eyes, Bae could see pity. The metallic taste of lies filled his mouth and he wanted so badly to tell her the truth, where he came from, how he got to this strange place. But she was a stranger to him. He only knew her name and that he would not believe him if he told her the truth. So he let the lie hang in the air and the pity remain in her eyes.

"What happened to them?"

"It was an accident." Lie number two

"What were their names?"

Bae wasn't quite sure how to respond to this either. Truth be told, he barely remembered his mother. She was a faint charcoal sketch in his mind, one that was becoming cruder every day. He could no longer recall her name. His father had raised him for most of his life, but at the moment, he didn't even want to think of his father. The wound was still too fresh. "Coward," he murmured, eyes beginning to tear.

"Are you okay?" Melissa asked, true concern evident in her tone.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Bae answers. "I am fine." Lie number three.


	2. Home Sweet Home

_As a quick note, this story takes place in 2010, in a fictional town called Fallenwood, Pennsylvania._

* * *

Chapter Two: Home Sweet Home

The scenery was whipping past the window, one giant blur. But Bae wasn't looking out the window. He was staring straight ahead, at the headrest of the driver's seat, where Melissa now sat. He was completely tense, still not trusting these metal beasts Melissa called cars. He didn't quite understand why people used them to get around when they still had two legs that worked perfectly. But he supposed that was the custom in this strange place, one he would have to get used to while he was here.

Melissa was babbling, trying to make conversation with him. He occasionally caught snatches of what she was saying. Random words and phrases floated back to him and made absolutely no sense at all. It didn't really matter to him though. He didn't want to hear what she was saying. The topic of her one way conversation was the people who she was taking him to, the ones who were supposed to supposed to substitute for a family.

"The Carmichaels are very nice people. Mr. Carmichael is a lawyer and Mrs. Carmichael is a teacher." Melissa continued prattling on, but Bae had long since stopped listening. Instead, he stared at the palms of his hands as if they were the most interesting things in the world. A dull ache filled him, one he knew to be homesickness.

If you had asked Bae two months ago what he wanted most in the world, he would have said to go to a world without magic with his father, and live happily ever after. But if you were to ask him now, as he sat in the backseat of Melissa Carter's car, he would say without hesitation that he wanted to go home. He didn't care about the magic or happily ever after at the moment. He just wanted to see his father, because, all though he wished he could, he didn't hate his father. He still loved him and that is what made his cowardice and betrayal hurt so much.

Magic always has a price. That was a lesson that had been drilled into his head since birth. The price he had paid for coming to this place had been his father. Now he was alone in a strange world he didn't understand. It was terrifying and all he wanted was his father back. But his choice had been made and now he had to live with it.

XxXxX

Melissa Carter pulled into a long, winding driveway forty five minutes. A large house painted a cheery yellow house sat at the end of the drive. Red roses climbed up white painted lattices. Each blade of green grass was cut to a uniform length. The hedges were trimmed to perfection. It was so unlike the forest that Bae had spent his life in.

Melissa stopped the car and Bae got out. He clutched the bag they had given him to his chest, the one that contained his possessions from this world. He followed her up the steps to the imposing oak door. She pushed a button and Bae heard a faint echo in the dwelling. There was the distinct clack of footsteps and the door swung open with a creak. A tall, slender woman with long, dark hair answered. A smile stretched across her face when she saw him. "You must be Bae," she said, her voice almost sickening in its sweetness. Bae nodded. She ushered him into a large foyer. Melissa stayed close behind him.

"Welcome. I'm Mrs. Carmichael. This is my home sweet home." She made a large, sweeping gesture. She continued to talk as she led them down a long hallway with a high ceiling. They turned into a brightly lit room that Bae supposed was this realm's version of a kitchen. There were three others in there, sitting at the table in there. There were two girls and one boy. They talked quietly amongst themselves and one of the girl's was laughing, but they stopped once they saw Bae.

"Bae, you can sit in here with the others while I talk to Miss Carter." They exited the room quietly, leaving Bae alone with the other three children. There was a terse silence as they stared at one another. Finally, one of the girls sighed. "If you aren't going to two aren't going to introduce yourselves, I will."

She stood and walked up to him, a bounce in her step. "My name is Sarah." She stuck out her hand and, Bae shook it tentatively.

"My name is Bae."

"Interesting name. I like it. I find my name quite boring. Sarah." Her nose wrinkled in disgust. "I don't think it fits my personality." She pointed at the other girl, the one with curly red hair. "That's Skye. She's the sarcastic one and a writer, although she'll never let anyone read what she writes. And that's Jareth," she said, gesturing to the boy with shaggy black hair. "He doesn't talk much. He says I talk enough for the both of us." Sarah paused to draw a breath before continuing. "So, what's your story?"

He shrugged. He really did not feel like talking and he agreed with Jareth. Sarah did enough talking for everybody in the room. "So, you're like that?" Sarah asked. "It's okay. I won't press. There are a lot of things I don't tell people."

Skye scoffed. "Really, Sarah? There are things you don't tell people? That comes as a surprise to me. I could probably write an extensive biography on you with all of the things you've told Jareth and me."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "I was just trying to be empathetic. You should try it sometime."

"Sure. You can give me lessons on how to be empathic and annoying as hell. Two for the price of one."

Bae was sure the two were about to start shouting at one another, but instead, they laughed as though this was a joke. Even Jareth was chuckling. His brow furrowed. This was a strange place, stranger than all the other places he had seen on Earth. Here fights dissolved into laughter in moments. And yet, he joined them. Because although this place was strange, the people here, especially Sarah, were nicer than everywhere else he had been yet. Maybe Mrs. Carmichael's words would hold true for him. Maybe this place could be his new home sweet home. He would have to wait and see.


	3. Pinky Swears and Nightmares

Chapter Three: Pinky Swears and Nightmares

Mrs. Carmichael led Bae down a winding labyrinth of hallways and up two flights of large, wooden stairs. They reached a door at the end of a long hall, painted light blue with a crooked, hand-lettered Do Not Disturb sign taped to the door. She opened the door and the hinges creaked loudly. The loud, grating sound made Bae cringe. "This is your room, Bae. You'll have to share with Jareth, but I think you'll find that you like it."

Bae stepped into the space. It was huge, much larger than the room he had slept in before he had come here. The walls were a pale blue, the color of the sky on a bright summer day. A large window dominated the far wall, overlooking the roof of the garage and a few trees. There were two beds on opposite sides of the room, fit for a king or someone else of high ranking. One of them was rumpled and messy, as if it had been slept in recently. Clothing and papers were strewn about the hardwood. The surface of the desk was cluttered with thick tomes that had titles Bae did not recognize like _Algebra Two_ and _Chemistry_.

However, the other side of the room was not nearly as cluttered. In fact, it looked barely lived in. The shelves were bare, the desk entirely free of debris. The bed was made with cloud white sheets that seemed as though they had never been used. Bae suspected that if he opened the chest of drawers on that side, he would find them entirely empty. The two sides of the room were a sharp contrast.

Bae entered the room, the floorboard creaking beneath his feet. He sat on the edge of the bed, sinking into the plushness almost immediately. Mrs. Carmichael left quietly, giving him time to "get settled" as she put it. Unzipping the bag he had been given, he wondered how his meager belongings could even begin to fill the gargantuan space given to him. Taking out the clothes he had been given, he walked over to the chest of drawers. He opened the topmost one. Just as he suspected. Empty. He placed the clothes inside and they barely took up half the space inside.

Underneath those were the clothes Bae had come in. He had unable to part with them, as they carried with them reminders of a time he had been undeniably happy. Carefully, he tucked them beneath the others. Rattling around at the bottom of the bag was a husk of a bean, withered from the loss of the magic it once possessed. Bae noticed a twinkle of magic left inside, not enough for it to be of any use to him. He stared at it for a moment, still in awe that such a tiny object could have such a great impact on his life forevermore.

The hinges of the door creaked behind him and Bae nearly jumped out of his skin. Shoving the bean in his pocket, he whirled around to see Jareth entering the room. Breathing a sigh of relief, Bae allowed himself to relax. Jareth sat on the edge of his bed, his dark eyes still trained on Bae. He felt awkward under the other boy's intense and powerful gaze. Turning away from his, he busied himself by staring out the window at the bright landscape. Still, he could feel the boy's eyes on him.

"What do you want?" Bae asked after a moment, voice faltering slightly.

"Jareth, don't scare the poor boy." Bae turned around to see Sarah standing in the doorway. He was able to relax more completely when he saw them there. Sarah just seemed to radiate a sort of warmth that calmed him in a way he was unable to explain. He sat back on the bed, and fingered the magic bean in his pocket. Sarah continued chattering on, Bae half listening to what she was saying.

"So, do you like your new room? It used to belong to Oliver but he left, went to a different home in a different city. I didn't mind though, because I never particularly liked him. Ollie talked way too much. You didn't want to get him started because he would never stop. He would just yammer on and on and on. If you didn't stop him, he could go on for eons. You could never get a word in edgewise."

Jareth snorted quietly. Sarah whirled on him. "Don't start with me, Jareth. You're the one trying to psych out the new kid. You should be ashamed of yourself. That's just not what you do."

Sarah flounced into the room and sat on the chair of Jareth's desk. She spun around in it until she was facing Bae. "So, what's up with you, Bae? How did you get such an interesting name? Is it short for something?"

"Baelfire," he says, answering only her final question."

Sarah stroked her chin. "Interesting. Where did you get it?"

"My father."

"I see. We have another man of few words here." Sarah sighed and turned back to Jareth. "Did you finish your Algebra homework yet?" Jareth nodded. Sarah smiled sweetly at him. "Can I borrow it? Please? I promise I'll even screw some up on purpose so it doesn't look like I copied. Pinky swear." She rolled the chair over to him and stuck out her pinky. He looked contemplative for a moment before wrapping his finger around hers.

"What are you doing?" Bae asked, confused by this strange custom.

Sarah turned to him, jaw hanging open. "You don't know what a pinky swear is? Have you spent your life under a rock or something? Well, a pinky swear is something two people do by entwining their pinkies. It's a vow and you can't break it, no matter what. It's more like a deal and the pinkies are like the handshake that seals it."

"A deal?"

"Bae, are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost or something."

"I am fine." He lay down on the bed, looking away from Sarah. She shrugged and turned to Jareth. "Now, where is your Algebra homework?"

XxXxX

Dusk was just beginning to fall upon Fallenwood, Pennsylvania. Stars were beginning to make their nightly appearances in the darkening sky. Bae looked up at the night sky for the first time since his arrival. They looked nothing like the stars Bae knew so well and this made him want to cry. Everything was different. Even the stars, a constant in the Enchanted Forest, were utterly changed. He looked away from the window and down at the fine china he was dining on. He picked at the meat in front of him. It was cooked in a strange way, one he was unaccustomed to, and he didn't care for the taste.

Sarah was chatting animatedly about the mundane, something he had already she was prone to doing. She was talking about something Skye had done earlier that day. Occasionally, the red-head interjected some comment, but it was mainly a one sided conversation.

Bae found his mind wondering what his father would think of this girl who never stopped talking. Would he find her ramblings amusing, like most seemed to, or would he find her irritating, like a fly that will not stop buzzing by an ear? He liked to think that he would like her but his father was not always predictable. It had always been that way, but his unpredictability had grown along with his power.

Bae shook his head, as if trying to dislodge the thought from his brain. It did not seem to work very well, so Bae turned his attention to Sarah's words. She seemed to have moved on to another topic, but it did not really matter to Bae. Her words were better the thoughts of times before. "And then Randy Warden just fell out of his chair from the shock of it all. Mrs. Porter had to call the nurse to come and get him because he was catatonic and refused to move. They had to roll him away in a wheelchair."

"That can't be true," said Mr. Carmichael, a kindly looking man, with a lined face and a twinkle of humor in his eye.

"But it is. I don't know if he's going to be back in school tomorrow. The rumor was they had to take him to a hospital and operate on his brain."

"I don't think the rumors are true in this case."

"I never said they were. I was only repeating what other kids were saying."

Mr. Carmichael turned to Bae. "So, how are you finding things?"

"Things are…" He paused, looking for the right word. "Nice. Thank you so much."

He smiled warmly. "You are very welcome, son. I am so glad you like it here."

The casual use of the word son made him cringe. This man did not realize the effect it had on him. It made his blood his turn to ice in his veins and caused his hair to stand on end. Son. He was not a son, not in this place. He might have been, had it not been for his father's cowardice. But that was not what destiny had in mind, he supposed. Here, he was no one's child, no one's son. It had been his father's choice and now, Bae was paying for it.

Son. No, that was not a word that applied to him here.

XxXxX

_A swirling green vortex on the forest floor. His father driving his dagger into the ground. Bae's own voice calling out, "You coward! You promised! You broke our deal!" Then falling through the vortex. Falling through blackness, time immeasurable. Landing somewhere entirely unfamiliar._

Bae awoke with a start, sweat soaking him through. He pushed off the covers, the heat unbearable. He stood, the floorboards creaking beneath his feet. It was still dark outside, probably only two or three in the morning. Bae knew he wouldn't be able to sleep now. He had been having the same dream since he arrived here, a dream of the night his world had changed forever. It hurt, even just thinking about it. The betrayal still hurt, like someone twisting a dagger that had been stuffed in his gut.

Not wanting to be in the room anymore, Bae exited the bedroom. The door creaked loudly and frightened, he looked over at Jareth. The boy stirred, but he did not awaken. Breathing a sigh of relief, Bae shut the door behind him. He wasn't quite sure where he was going, he simply let his legs move of their own accord.

He found himself in the kitchen. The lights were off but someone was sitting there. It was Skye and she was trembling, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She was sobbing quietly, head in her hands. She looked up when she saw him. "Oh, it's you. Why are you down here?"

"I had a nightmare."

"Me too." Skye was silent for a moment, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Would you like some tea? I was just about to make some."

Bae nodded, happy that this world had something that was familiar to him. Skye filled a kettle with water and placed it on the stove. While it was coming to a boil, she sat. Bae took a seat across from her. He waited for her to ask about his nightmare and was surprised when she didn't. Instead, she simply stared at him. When the kettle began to whistle, she went and prepared two cups of tea. "Do you like milk with your tea?"

"Yes."

"Sugar?"

"No."

She placed the steaming brown drink in front of him then slid in the seat across from him. He sipped his tea and it reminded him of home. Skye took a tentative sip of her own cup and gulped it down shakily. They sat there, not talking, simply drinking their tea. The two sat there long after their cups had gone dry. Not a word was exchanged. Bae supposed that sometime, they may speak of this occurrence, but in that moment; he was content with the comfortable silence.


	4. Through Their Eyes

_This chapter is going to be very short. It's drabbles from the points of view of Sarah, Jareth, and Skye, talking about how they view Bae during his first few days with them._

* * *

Chapter Four: Through Their Eyes

_Sarah_

She found him strange. He didn't seem to quite…fit. He seemed awkward in his own skin. He didn't seem to like to speak that much either, a concept foreign to Sarah. Still, it was interesting to see which of her questions he would answer. It became a game to her, finding out what would make him talk to her. She found that more mundane topics, like books and such were lost on him. He had no clue what Harry Potter was or Twilight. Also, personal subjects were out. Anytime she asked him what his life had been like before he came to the Carmichael house, he would clam up.

Skye called her insensitive, but she didn't see it that way. She was trying to learn things about the boy. Even non-answers gave her information. It reminded her of when she learned about hypotheses in middle school. If your hypothesis was disproved, you still had knowledge about what did not work. The same thing applied in this case, somewhat. If Bae didn't give an answer, she could read his body language and tell what a sensitive subject for him was, such as family.

If you looked in his eyes when he spoke of his father, you could see pain there. Sarah often found herself wondering what exactly Bae's father had done to cause that kind of internal agony. It had to have been the worst kind of betrayal. She wanted to ask him why he looked like that, but she knew that question was one for another day. You had to wait for the wounds to heal and scar before you asked about something like that.

Sarah Johnson may have been many things, but she was not heartless.

* * *

_Skye_

Skye liked the new kid. He wasn't intrusive like Sarah, asking questions and talking incessantly. He was the good kind of quiet, the kind that hinted at deep thinking going on beneath the surface. Often times though, he looked confused at things he shouldn't, like the television. Skye once thought she heard him whispering to himself about saving the people trapped inside the glass box. Also, he eyed electric lights and toilets with an unbridled fasciation usually reserved for young children exploring the world for the first time. She found it strange but endearing, just another of Bae's odd quirks.

But the thing that cemented her liking for him was that night in the kitchen. He came down and sat, not asking any questions. When Sarah came down, on the strange nights she woke up before the sun, she was full of intrusive questions Skye didn't want to hear, let alone answer. Even when Jareth joined, he was known to her ask the odd question or two.

Bae didn't speak a word until she spoke to him and even then, his sentences weren't any longer or shorter than they needed to be. They were concise and to the point, no fluff added. And he was content with silence, a quality she found admirable in a person.

Skye always thought a person like him would make an interesting character. Someone introverted and inquisitive, intelligent and elegant, lost and haunted, with deep, metaphorical thoughts churning just beneath his surface. He almost seemed like Alice dropped into Wonderland, lost in a world where he did not belong.

No, that was wrong. He reminded her of a creature from Wonderland dropped into Alice's world.

Skye Thurgood often found herself thinking of things topsy-turvy, but this time, it almost seemed to make sense.

* * *

_Jareth_

Jareth had discovered a lot about Bae in the few days the two had known each other. Jareth knew the boy's name was strange and he didn't find anything at all when he Googled his name. He knew Bae thrashed in his sleep and he spoke sometimes too, talking about fathers and cowardice. He knew that whenever Sarah asked him about his family, especially his father, his eyes became pained and stopped talking. He knew that when Bae talked, he sounded kind of like a character in a Shakespearean play or maybe a Grimm fairytale.

Despite all he knew, he couldn't figure him out. Normally, Jareth liked puzzles but this one was rapidly becoming more difficult. The other two only knew what Jareth had already figured out and it was frustrating that information on this new boy was so hard to come by. Each piece of information he got was like a nugget of gold, no platinum, and he treated it as such.

Jareth knew that people were different from puzzles. They were living, breathing. People had emotions, haunted pasts, and secrets that were locked up like skeletons in a closet. People puzzles were much harder than jigsaw puzzles, because there were so many more pieces, so many more variable.

But, Jareth King was good at puzzles and he knew, given time, he would figure this one out too.


End file.
